Post-holiday burnout? It's time to try 'bed rotting'

After weeks of holiday hustle — shopping for gifts, attending reunions, cooking Noche Buena, completing Simbang Gabi, and squeezing in every last celebration — the most exhausting part may come after the holidays are over.

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As routines return and inboxes refill, many Filipinos find themselves mentally and physically drained. If all you want to do now is stay in bed and recover, you're not alone — and you may actually be listening to what your body needs.

Enter “bed rotting,” a Generation Z term for spending intentional time in bed to rest, sleep, eat, scroll through social media, or binge-watch favorite shows — no productivity required.

“At a time when we try to squeeze in as many activities as we can in a day, it’s only natural to step away from the busyness to decompress, breathe, and simply do nothing,” says Dr. Anna Marie Lantano, psychiatrist from Makati Medical Center (MakatiMed).

The idea of purposeful rest isn’t new. In the Netherlands, niksen refers to embracing idleness, while Italians call it dolce far niente — the sweetness of doing nothing.